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ATP! Interview: Jess Bowen and Meg Frampton 'Speak Up' with Up Close and Personal Speaking Tour

After giving drum lessons through Band Happy on Warped Tour 2014, Jess Bowen of
The Summer Set had a major epiphany.

“Out of the people who signed up, a majority really just wanted to have a conversation
with me,” Bowen said. “A lot of them would come to me with struggles they were
having.”

Photo Credit: Rachel Ann Cauilan

When The Summer Set’s manager, Michael Kaminksy, heard about Bowen’s experience,
he immediately put her in touch with Meg & Dia’s Meg Frampton.

“We thought there was a need to encourage girls to start a conversation,” Bowen said. “I
have a lot of girls that come to shows and tell me different things, like not feeling brave
enough to be a female in the music industry.

“There should be a conversation happening,” Frampton added, “so we hopped on board.”

Bowen and Frampton quickly went to work, setting up an “intimate” speaking panel
called “Speak Up” in three different locations throughout California. The pair wanted the
event to be less like a Q&A, and more like a discussion among small groups.

Hearing the personal, often emotional, stories of near-strangers, can “sometimes be
challenging,” Frampton said, “because I don’t have all the answers.”

But people come to Frampton and Bowen anyway, so the two musicians try to share
something of their own personal experience and, most importantly, listen.

“I feel like I have no right to tell people what’s right or wrong,” Bowen said. “I’m just a
drummer! But I really want to discuss these things and I want to be honest.”

Bowen and Frampton both expect the majority of the audience at “Speak Up” to be
female, because today’s society often lacks “that close connection with a group of girls
where we can share our feelings,” Frampton said.

Though Bowen “hates using the word,” the drummer said that other girls often look up to
her as a role model.

“Meg and I were joking around, because it’s kind of funny – I still don’t feel like I have
anything figured out. But that’s kind of the beauty of life,” Bowen said. “You don’t have
to have it all figured out.”

Specifically, Bowen feels girls are looking up to both herself and Frampton as role
models in the music industry, where there aren’t many other strong females to take cues
from. Frampton and Bowen both dealt with gender-related issues at many different points
in their careers, and are willing to share those stories with other women.

“The first part of my music career, I was wearing guy’s sneakers and chopped my hair
off,” Frampton said, because she was not comfortable with her femininity.

“I felt like I had to put up walls, or had to be tough, because I was the only girl in the
band or even on the tour,” Bowen added. “I didn’t want to be that. I wanted to fit in with
the guys. I didn’t want to be treated differently.”

Both women tried to be “tougher” than they actually were, afraid of being perceived as
vulnerable.

“Eventually,” Frampton said, “you kind of settle into being comfortable and realize what
you are. I started to wear heels on stage, and even dresses, but that moment only came
after I went through some tougher things.”

Frampton and Bowen hope that people feel inspired by their speaking tour, “to go out
there and do what they want to do, and be a little less afraid,” Frampton said. Both
musicians said that they want people to feel more comfortable with who they are.

“I get a lot of females who seem to be ashamed to be who they are,” Bowen said.
“They’re not comfortable in their own skin. They’re hiding their true selves. But at the
end of the day, you’re not going to live a happy life unless you’re true to yourself. So I
hope everyone walks away from “Speak Up” feeling comfortable in their skin.”